


More Than Bros

by ereshai



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Feelings, Getting Together, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:12:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9056947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ereshai/pseuds/ereshai
Summary: Ransom discovers Holster and Bitty are dating and he's not quite sure how he feels about that.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Irollforinitiative](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irollforinitiative/gifts).



> I'm sorry this is a bit late. Merry Christmas? I hope you like it, irollforintiative.

**Ransom**

It  took Ransom completely by surprise. One minute he’s nodding off in his bed while Holster talked about his day (the parts of it Ransom wasn’t there for, which, wow, was way more than Ransom had realized), the next he’s wide awake, staring out into the darkness of their room.

Holster was talking about Bitty a lot. When had they started spending so much time together, just the two of them? Enough time that…

“Bitty showed you his vlog?” That was huge. Bitty hadn’t shared that with any of them.

“He’s got a lot of subscribers. It’s ‘swawesome, if you’re into baking.” Holster yawned. “I mean, he talks about the team and hockey, too. But it’s mostly baking.”

Holster wasn’t really into baking, though. He also hadn’t been into tai chi before dating Meiying in sophomore year, but then he’d tried to get the whole team to do it as part of their warm ups. They had tried it a few times and then when Holster and Meiying had broken up, they stopped. Then there was Erin with her vintage comics. Then Scott and fantasy football. He’d stopped dating after Scott, though, and stuck to hook-ups.

But now, Ransom realized, Holster was spending more time in the kitchen. That may have been to get firsties of whatever Bitty was procrasti-baking; the stuff Bitty came up with was sometimes unusual, but it was always delicious. Hell, that was why Ransom was usually there right along with him. The boy could bake, everyone knew that.

Except Holster was _helping_ Bitty bake sometimes.

They had to be dating. And for some reason, that really bothered Ransom.

“Cool,” Ransom said weakly.

“Yeah,” Holster replied, already half asleep.

It was a long time before Ransom fell asleep, and for once Holster’s snoring had nothing to do with it.

~

Holster and Bitty didn’t really do couple shit. But Bitty was around a lot more. Just there, hanging out, watching tv with Holster and Ransom. Studying with them instead of wherever he usually studied (Ransom didn’t want to judge, but Bitty’s ‘studying’ method involved way too many Twitter breaks. Okay, maybe he did want to judge; it was driving him crazy.).

But then there were the times Holster and Bitty would hang out in Bitty’s room. With the door closed. And they would cuddle. And touch each other. Nothing fineable, especially since they weren’t officially out to the team about dating; Holster knew the fine system inside and out. Ransom didn’t know how Bitty was holding back the pet names, though.

More time with Bitty meant less time with Ransom, and Ransom isn’t sure how to bring it up without sounding like he wanted Holster to stop spending so much time with his boyfriend. Bros don’t do that to bros. Even if that was what Ransom wanted. Just a little.

So Ransom decided to talk to Jack.

* * *

 

**Bitty**

Bitty and Holster never really talked about it, the thing they had in common. One of them (Bitty) had said something once – nothing specific – and the other (Holster) had understood exactly what he wasn’t saying.

Never fall for a straight boy.

Bitty doesn’t know for sure that Holster’s in love with Ransom, but he’s got eyes. He sees the way Holster looks at Ransom when Ransom isn’t looking. And everyone knows Holster will do just about anything for his fellow d-man. He’s not sure if Holster knows that it’s Jack Bitty’s been mooning over, but it’s probably just as easy for Holster to see the way Bitty looks at Jack.

So sometimes, when they need to be around someone who knows what questions not to ask, someone who _understands_ , they’ll hang out in Bitty’s room and talk about anything else. In a fit of distraction, Bitty had even showed Holster his vlog, not that Holster was all that interested. Hanging out in private had led to hanging out more often in general – Holster wasn’t a half bad baking partner when he put his mind to it and it was entertaining to watch him and Ransom and their almost telepathic connection. Though if Ransom couldn’t see how Holster felt about him plain as day, Bitty had to wonder.

And then one day, Jack asked to speak with Bitty in private.

They went into Bitty’s room and closed the door. Bitty sat on his bed, but Jack stood in the middle of the room.

“So, Bittle,” Jack began and then stopped, looking mighty uncomfortable.

Bitty waited. He had no idea what Jack might want to talk to him about – their early morning checking clinics were going well, Bitty never skipped practice and he always gave the 110% Jack demanded of the team. They were getting along, too; Bitty considered Jack his friend and he thought Jack did the same. Unless…

Had Jack figured out Bitty’s feeling for him? Was he trying to let him down gently? Lord, this was mortifying.

“You and Holster have been getting closer, eh?”

What?

“Me and Holster?”

Jack had his Captain face on now. “I support you in your relationship, but I would like the both of you to think about how it could affect the team, especially if it doesn’t end well.” He said the whole thing in a rush, as if he’d memorized it. Knowing Jack, he probably had.

“Relationship?” Bitty was confused. “He’s my friend, same as everyone else in the Haus. Heck, he and Ransom are closer than him and me. I’d be more worried about their relationship affecting the team.”

“Oh.” Jack’s cheeks turned pink. “So you two… you aren’t dating?”

“Now where in the world would you get an idea like that? Lord, no. If we were dating, he’d have to stop setting me up with every gay, bi, or pan male student athlete attending Samwell, and that would just about break his heart.”

“Haha. Yeah. Okay. Good talk, Bittle.” Jack started to leave, but turned back almost immediately. “Want to go get a coffee at Annie’s?”

Bitty knew it was just a friendly invitation. Between friends. It shouldn’t cause his heart to start pounding. His heart started pounding anyway. “I’d love to,” he said with a smile.

“Better grab your jacket, then, eh?”

“It’s not that cold out yet, is it?” Bitty pulled out his phone and checked the weather. “It’s a little chilly, I suppose… Was that a chirp? Are you making fun of my entirely reasonable reaction to the cold?”

“Maybe if it was actually cold when you broke out your winter gear…”

“You hush, Mr. Zimmermann. Let’s go before I change my mind.” Bitty grabbed a light jacket – just in case – and they left Bitty’s room and went downstairs and out the front door.

“I have to tell Holster you thought the two of us were dating. He’s going to bust a gut laughing,” Bitty said as they walked down the street. “How did you come up with such an idea?”

“Oh. Well, um…”

* * *

 

**Holster**

Holster wasn’t sure how he should be feeling. On one hand, Ransom thought he and Bitty were dating. How could he be so mistaken? Didn’t he know Holster at all? On the other, it meant Ransom had no clue about Holster’s more-than-bros feelings for him, which was good. Or bad. Holster wasn’t sure which he preferred.

The important part of all of this was that Ransom had gone to Jack, as their Captain, with his concern about their so-called relationship and how it would affect the team. Why not talk to Holster directly? He’d never had a problem letting Holster know his opinion of Holster’s various date-mates and hook-ups before.

Should he bring it up first, or let Ransom come to him?

He didn’t have a lot of time to think about it before Ransom made the decision for him.

Holster’s stomach did that swooping thing it did whenever Ransom walked into the room. Luckily, he had plenty of practice ignoring it.

“Adam,” Ransom said, solemn. Holster immediately sat up. This must be serious. “I think Jack’s moving in on your boy.”

That was not what Holster was expecting.

“And Bitty’s pretty into it,” Ransom went on. “Hearts coming out of his eyes and shit. They’re in the kitchen. Baking. Together.”

“Really?” They hadn’t discussed it, but Holster had assumed Jack was Bitty’s unattainable straight boy (and he was totally right).

“Look, I don’t know what arrangement you’ve got going on with Bitty. Maybe you’re cool with this. I just wanted to make sure this wasn’t, like, new information.”

“This is definitely the first I’ve heard of it.” Good for Bitty. Maybe his totally hopeless crush wasn’t that hopeless after all. “But-“

“I cannot believe Jack would- or Bitty-“ Ransom started pacing. “This is like the dick move of all dick moves. However you want to handle this, I will back you one hundred percent, bro.”

“Number one, they’re baking. I’m gonna need more than that before I get all worked up about them being together. Two, Bitty and I don’t have an arrangement, so nobody’s pulling any dick moves.” Holster smiled. “But thanks for having my back, bro.”

Ransom was quiet for a long time. “You and Bitty… aren’t you and Bitty?”

“We aren’t dating, and the only reason I know you think that is because Bitty told me. And he knows because Jack told him. Because you went to Jack with your ‘concerns’.” Holster didn’t even bother with air quotes. “So what’s up with that, Justin? Why couldn’t you talk to me, man?”

Ransom collapsed into the desk chair. He couldn’t meet Holster’s eyes. “Just worried about the team,” he mumbled.

“Really? C’mon Rans, this isn’t how we roll.”

“…Imightbealittlejealous.”

“Excuse me?” Holster didn’t really hear that, did he?

Ransom glared at him. “I was jealous, bro, you want me to say it again?”

“Because I was hanging out with Bitty sometimes?”

“Sometimes? More like all the time.”

“And you were there for most of it.” Holster stared at Ransom in disbelief. “Are you… are you pouting?”

“Don’t start, _Adam_.”

“Just talk to me next time, _Justin_.”

“I feel like we’re not getting enough bro-time anymore, okay? Bitty’s great and I like hanging out with him, but I miss it being just you and me sometimes, you know?”

Holster got up and walked over to Ransom. “C’mere, bro.” Ransom stood and Holster pulled him into a giant hug. “You’re my best friend, you know that, right?”

“I know,” Ransom mumbled into his shoulder.

“We good?”

“Yeah.”

Holster hugged Ransom for a bit longer, then sat down on his bed again, relieved. He and Ransom were still besties, and that was all he could ask for.

Ransom sat down again too. “So why did you start hanging out with Bitty so much?”

Holster stiffened. Ransom didn’t need to know about his stupid romantic feelings. “Oh, uh. Pie, y’know?” He winced internally and wished he was a better liar.

“Pie? Were you not getting enough before?” If Ransom raised his eyebrows any higher, they’d become part of his hairline.

“…no?”

“What did you say before, about talking? C’mon bro.”

“Bitty had – has – a crush. More than a crush. On a straight guy, or so we thought. We would hang out to distract him from thinking about it, you know, keep him from feeling down.” There, that was close enough to the truth.

“Jack, huh? Funny, you’d think he’d go to Lardo with something like that. Nothing against you, bro.”

“Yeah, well,” Holster muttered, “I kinda know how he feels.”

“What?” Ransom looked like someone had hit him.

“You knew I like guys, too. I mean, Scott…”

Ransom shook his head sharply. “No, it’s not that. You… there’s someone you-“ He waved his hand vaguely in the air.

“Love?”

“Love. And you couldn’t talk to me about it?” Ransom was starting to look sick.

“It wasn’t that-“ Holster began, but he didn’t know what to say, how to explain without giving his feelings away. “Rans-“

“Tell me about this guy, Holtzy. Is he good enough for you?”

“Too good. He’s…” Now Holster was supposed to talk about how wonderful Ransom was to his face and _not_ tell him how much he loved him? He patted the bed beside him and waited to see if Ransom would come and sit there.

Ransom was beside him in a heartbeat. Holster stared down at the floor, sighed heavily, then took Ransom’s hand in his own. “This okay?”

“Yeah, of course bro. Whatever you need.”

Holster stared down at their entwined hands. That’s what he wanted, all the time.  Slowly, he lifted his head and met Ransom’s gaze.

“This guy, he’s my best friend.” Ransom’s hand tightened on his. “He’s always up for whatever crazy shit I want to try, and he comes up with amazing ideas of his own. Sometimes it’s like he can read my mind, you know?”

“I know,” Ransom whispered.

“And when he gets stressed out, he trusts me to take care of him.” He tried to clear the tightness in his throat.

“Does he take care of you, Adam?” Ransom’s voice was as rough as his own.

“Yeah, he does.”

Ransom lifted his free hand and touched Holster’s face. “When I thought you and Bitty were dating, I did a lot of thinking. About being jealous and _why_ I was jealous.”

“Okay?” Holster didn’t dare let himself hope.

“And all those things I thought you were doing as a couple were things I wanted to do with you. Not just hanging out, but being close.”

“Intimate.” Holster sucked in shuddering breath.

“Yeah. More than bros or besties.” Ransom leaned closer

“Boyfriends?” Holster whispered.

“Yeah,” Ransom whispered back. “Can I?” His eyes were on Holster’s mouth.

“Please.”

Ransom closed the distance between them and kissed him, hesitantly at first, but then with more confidence as Holster kissed him back.

“That was okay?” he asked when they parted.

“Justin." Holster rested his forehead against Ransom's. "It was perfect.”


End file.
